Pretty hunting
Text: Richard Plos
Illustration: Adam Tooby
Cat. No. 2146
Widow maker. This unflattering nickname was earned by the Martin B-26 Marauder medium bomber shortly after its introduction to the US Army Air Force. Pilots, by then accustomed to easy-to-handle and slow to clunky aircraft such as the B-18 Bolo, had great difficulty coping with the significantly higher takeoff and landing speeds, as well as the need to maintain sufficient airspeed at all times, including situations where one of the engines blew out. And because the Pratt & Whitney R2800 engines were by no means trouble-free, tragedies were no exceptions during pilot training.
In reality, however, the B-26 Marauder was a very advanced aircraft for its time, and its qualities eventually became fully apparent. Of all the American aircraft, it achieved the lowest ratio of losses to combat operations. Compared to the B-25, it was faster, which was the initial intention, and could carry a larger bomb load. However, while the Mitchell’s handling was virtually foolproof, the Marauder required much more attention from the pilots and a stricter adherence to the airspeeds given in the manual. This was primarily due to the higher wing area load, which was nevertheless reduced in the following versions, making the last Marauders easier to fly. In total, Marauder crews flew more than 100,000 missions and dropped over 150,000 tons of bombs on enemy targets. And despite the unflattering nickname, Marauder losses were the lowest of any type of bomber used by the USAAF, at just under half a percent.
From the history of one bomb group
One of the bombing groups that was armed with Marauders from the beginning was the 394th Bomb Group (Mid). It was activated on March 5, 1943, and during February and March 1944 its members and equipment moved to England at Boreham Base. As part of the 9th Air Force, the group attacked targets in France, often V-1 sites. Other common targets were marshalling yards or roads, especially bridges.
During the D-day landings, crews of the 394th BG bombed German positions at Cherbourg, hitting several important communications, fuel depots, and German positions. Then, during the fighting in the St Lo area on July 25, their bombardment of German positions helped make an important breakthrough. The group received the Distinguished Unit Cross for operations from August 7 to 9. During this three-day period, they carried out a series of five raids on heavily fortified and defended targets, destroying an ammunition depot and four important railway bridges.
By the end of August 1944, the move to the Continent had taken place and the 394th BG Marauders were appearing over Germany with increasing frequency. During December 1944 to January 1945, they also made their mark in the fighting during the Battle of Bulge. Bombing the roads, they made it difficult for the Germans to get supplies and hit several ammunition depots. Less traditional missions also included leaflet drops over enemy territory towards the end of the war.
After the German surrender, the 394th BG remained in Europe as part of the occupation forces. In September 1945 it began training on the A-26 Invader and in December was redesignated the 394th Bomb Group (Light). Upon return to the US, the group was inactivated on 31 March 1946.
A pro with a brush
Like every bombardment group, the 394th BG also had someone in its ranks who could portray various nosearts according to the wishes of the crews. In this case, however, it was a true artist, S/Sgt. Frank M. Spangler, Jr. The member of the 585th Bomb Squadron was a professional cartoonist, and so it was not surprising that there was considerable interest in his services. Among his works were paintings of Round Too (43-34571), Sure Go For No Dough (43-34200), and also Miss Manookie (42-96255) aircraft.
The choice of aircraft name and artwork was the privilege of the main pilot to whom the aircraft was assigned. While this did not mean that others could not fly it, the main pilot used the aircraft most often. In the case of Miss Manookie, this was Lt. Thomas Craddock Howard, the co-pilot was David Hollice Hughes and the theme was an “American Indian” woman hunting with bow.
In mid-August 1945, Spangler began pilot training on the L-4 Cub as part of a program conducted at Venlo Holland Base. The program was designed to prepare selected members of the U.S. Air Force who were not pilots to obtain a civilian pilot’s license. However, Frank Spangler did not follow the civilian pilot route after the war, instead he returned to art and become a respected cartoonist. Together with his father, also a cartoonist and caricaturist, they focused mainly on social and political issues.
Of his wartime creations rendered on the metal surface of Marauders, Miss Manookie was probably the most colorful. The aircraft survived its 60 combat missions. Adam Tooby’s boxart shows it on one of these missions late in the war somewhere over Germany ...